I use nutridiary for counting my calories. I typed in all my info, weight, body fat, goal weight, and it gives me a bunch of numbers that I am sure are suppose to mean something to me, LOL . It also gives me my calorie intake for the day. It varys from day to day depending on my excersise days. Sometimes its 1700 which seem reasonable to start with. But on low days it goes all the way down to 14ish. Is it Ok to go that low and can I trust this web site to tell me how many calories I should be eating everyday? Just trying to get it right!! Thanks everyone!!

I use nutridiary, and I'm not sure what number you're refering to. Is it on the "My Log" page? Is it like any of this information below (from my page today).

+ Basal Metabolic Rate*: 1746 kcal
+ General Activity*: 698 kcal
+ Extra Activity and Exercise: 0 kcal
- Weight Loss Goal: 500 kcal
Day Quota: 1944 kcal
- Consumed: 1726 kcal
Calories Left: 218 kcal

Yes excactly, The days quota number is the one I'm refering to. The calorie counter. I was just wondering how good it is to rely on this? Thanks

hmm I wonder if this version is better than fitday???

I like it better than fitday. GOOD LUCK!

Purplepansy, maybe it's a right-brain, left-brain kind of thing. Neither is "better" or "worse"... one just fits some personalities better than the other one does.

They are both free. Why not try them both at the same time for a few days and see which one fits your personality better?

Just to add a few more, there's also Balancelog (I think that's what it's called) and Myfooddiary, to name a few.

let's see the numbers again:

+ Basal Metabolic Rate*: 1746 kcal
+ General Activity*: 698 kcal
+ Extra Activity and Exercise: 0 kcal
- Weight Loss Goal: 500 kcal
Day Quota: 1944 kcal
- Consumed: 1726 kcal
Calories Left: 218 kcal

Okay, the "day quota" is calculated using the the first 4 numbers above it. The first number, BMR is based on things like your weight, is how many calories you would burn is you stayed in bed all day. That number will go down as you lose weight, because you need fewer calories at lower weights.

The 2nd number is based on the activity level you choose in the control panel. I chose the 2nd level Lightly Active: "seated work with no option of moving around and little or no strenuous leisure activity."

I actually think I get more activity than that, but because I think nutridiary is high when it calculates activity, I set this deliberately low. The only activity I enter is my real exercise... as much for tracking purposes as to count calories.

The 3rd number is the exercise you entered for the day. This is important, because it can really change the "day quota" you asked about.

Those first three numbers, if totalled, should give you the number of calories you could eat to maintain your current weight (as listed in nutridiary). So if you exercise a lot the number of calories you eat can be higher to maintain.

And the 4th number "weight loss goal" is based on how many pounds you say you want to lose each week. I set mine conservatively at 1 pound/week (I often do better than that), which is why mine say 500. That represents the calorie deficit I should have that day to lose one pound per week (500*7 days/week = 3500 calories --- which is one pound).

OKay, so, Day Quota is how many calories I can eat TODAY and still lose 1 pound/week. In my case
1746 (BMR) + 698 (Activity Level) + 0 (Exercise) - 500 (Wt loss goal ) = 1944

Here's the thing... if you plug in numbers for exercise -- you can eat more to lose, and that's reflected in the Day Quota. So yours is varying by day because of the exercise you're doing.

*phew* Does that make sense?


As for the question of whether to trust it or not, I think that is trickier. Some people complain the calories burned for activities is high. I would agree, and this is why I set my personal level low and also only enter my real exercise. That said, I recently ran a report of calories in vs out over a 10 week period. The numbers suggest I should have lost 14.5 pounds. In actuality, I had lost 15. I concluded that for me, it was quite accurate indeed!!

purplepansy -- I agree that it's a personal choice. I used both for a few days to make my decision. There are some things I like about fitday better (more nutrition info!), but I liked the nutridiary interface better, and really liked the "meal" option... you can add together your own foods to make meals. You can then duplicate those meals in the future and easily edit them to make new meals. It has been great to track all the cooking I do at home.

I actually pay for the upgraded version with a much larger database (including lots of restaurants), and unlimited personal food database and meals.

Thank you!! that really did help. I understand it now. As for trusting it I will give it a few months and see. So far I have lost 2 pds so it can't be too bad. Well see. Thanks agian. Good luck

Angela -- I'm glad that helped! Good luck and keep us posted!

I use Nutridiary too and set my activity level to lightly active - even though I'm a teacher and spend all day on my feet!

Still, I concur that, apart from the activity levels being off a bit, the rest is about right. I've lost within a pound of what it says I should have lost - so I trust it!

I use Nutridiary also and it's been very accurate for me.